


Of The Four Ways It Could've Happened (But Didn't) and The One Way It Did

by MurkyCat



Category: Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: Boys Kissing, EVERYONE IS IN LOVE DEAL WITH IT, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, Team Reunion, Team as Family, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, it's just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-09 00:44:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7780273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MurkyCat/pseuds/MurkyCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Power Rangers Samurai team's reunion at the Shiba House could've happened many different ways...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of The Four Ways It Could've Happened (But Didn't) and The One Way It Did

**Author's Note:**

> Long story short is that I couldn't decide what I wanted to happen, so then I just did them all! The reunion fic nobody was waiting for, but thanks for checking it out all the same!

**Of The Four Ways It Could've Happened (But Didn't) and the One Way It Did**

 

**1.**

 

Mia bounded up the long walk to Shiba House, dark ponytail swinging behind her as Kevin carried their bags, laughing under his breath as he shook his head. He was excited, yes, but it appeared he could contain it better than his girlfriend.

 

He flushed; his _girlfriend_. It had a strange, delightful ring to it, and was something he was still getting used to. It was a fairly recent change of status, something that had happened when it was clear their meals were becoming a common thing, and the many kisses were no longer sudden and stolen, but slow and expected. Mia had asked him, rather bluntly, what they were doing, and where it was going, and he had, very awkwardly, told her it could go wherever she wanted, but that he hoped it would go on for a long while.

 

That night...

 

He cleared his throat, blushing bright red at his thoughts, just in time for Mia to call out, “Come _on,_ slow poke!”

 

With a chuckle and another shake of his head, he took the steps two at a time, and arrived at the front door to the house.

 

To his trained eye, it was easy to see that the front of the house had been neglected. The large cherry tree just to the right of the gate was dropping, its branched like tendrils, gingerly touching the ground with each gust of wind. Small tufts of grass grew up in a few spots between the white pebbles that lined the walkway. Even the front of Shiba House seemed dingy, left in the elements with no one to clean it.

 

“This is great!” Mia cheered, setting her small duffel full of cooking tools down on the ground, searching the various large, smooth stones around the front door, “We're the first ones here! I can start cooking, and when they get here they'll be so surprised!”

 

“Except if no one's here, we can't get in the house,” Kevin sighed, his chin in his hand thoughtfully, “and we'll have to go shopping before you start cooking anything. Since you need food to cook.”

 

“Fair point,” She acknowledged, pausing in her search to grin up at him, “but we can get in the house.”

 

“How?” He asked, snorting, “Break a window?”

 

“Aha!” She declared, standing to her full height with a shining object in her hand. Upon closer inspection, Kevin realized it was a key, and was shocked, “I didn't know they hid a spare! I didn't know they _had_ a spare!”

 

“I'm special,” Mia grinned wickedly, quickly unlocking the door, and pushing it open, quickly made her way inside, “Hurry up! We need to get to the store and get back before anyone else! Gotta start cooking!”

 

“I thought you were supposed to be cooking all that exotic fish Antonio—and Jayden—are supposed to bring back?” Kevin asked with slightly amusement, setting their bags down to closer the door. Mia was already making herself at home in the kitchen and called out above the clang of pans, “Fish doesn't take any time at all the cook, you know that! Besides, lots of other dishes to cook! Chop, chop!”

 

Laughing quietly to himself, Kevin shook his head and pressed a kiss to her cheek, “Whatever you say, Mia.”

 

…

 

**2.**

 

Lauren eyed the weathered exterior of Shiba House warily, as if the structure itself might bite her. Its white areas were slightly darker, a bit dingy, and she plucked a few clusters of grass from their intrusion from the pebbles as she waited on Ji.

 

She stood to her full height, brushing sweaty palms on red pants, and glanced back unsurely. Ji smiled encouragingly, holding out his palm, “Go on; this is your home.”

 

She smirked slightly at him, and he laughed quietly, knowing exactly what she was thinking. _You're my home_. But, all the same, she took the proffered key and slid it into the lock. Despite all their time away, it turned easily, the door popping open.

 

Lauren took a cautious step inside, and set her bag silently on the floor. A thin layer of dust had covered everything—the window sills, the floor, the knickknacks and sparse decorations—and Lauren stepped slowly across the floor. Puffs of dust followed her, and Ji did as well.

 

When they got to the living room, Lauren made a small noise of interest, and pointed to the white drop cloths over the table and couch and murmured, “Good idea.”

 

Ji bowed his head in thanks, smiling slightly as well. He watched Lauren move about, small fingers brushing dust off the small, porcelain lion sitting on the mantle, wiping the time from the face of a clay bear, a chipped ape, a metal turtle, a glass dragon. After, she stood, studying the room at large.

 

It was hard to remember a place so fully and yet still feel so out of place. Ji seemed to sense her confliction as he dropped his brown bag and stood behind her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him. Both hands came to hold his forearm as she murmured, “We should've taken more pictures. When we were young, I mean.”

 

Ji nodded his agreement, “Things were...difficult, as you know. We weren't sure we would be alive for those pictures to matter.”

 

Lauren nodded, leaning her weight more heavily into Ji. She remained quietly for awhile, then tilted her head back, looking up at him, placing a gentle kiss on the underside of his jaw in gratitude. She made another small noise, “I'm surprised no one's here yet...”

 

“Oh, give them time,” Ji smiled, “I'm sure they'll be here sooner rather than later.”

 

Lauren chuckled, “Gives us time to clean, then. This place needs it.”

 

Ji grimaced, “It does.”

 

In a rare show of silliness, Lauren patted the wall closest to her and apologized, “Sorry, Shiba House.”

 

Ji laughed, loud and warm, pressing a quick kiss to her temple, and Lauren grinned up happily at him.

 

…

 

**3.**

 

“Come _on_!”

 

Emily laughed, pulling her yellow bag from the bed of the old farm truck, “Mike! Come get your bag! Shiba House will still be there!”

 

Mike groaned, jogging back down the half of the stairs he had ascended, yanking his bag from the bed of the truck. He grabbed the back of the blonde's neck, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before spinning and darting up the stairs. Emily chuckled, shaking her head as she followed more sedately behind.

 

When she got to the top, she could only laugh, watching him pat the areas around the door, looking for a secret switch. She shook her head, “The key's under that rock to the far left, you dork.”

 

“What?” Mike asked, and began to argue even as he headed to the said spot, “No it's not. There is no spare keeeeeeeeyyyyyy—hey, there _is_ a spare key!”

 

Emily sighed, fond but exasperated, and grabbed it out of his hand as he pouted at her. She slid it into the lock and twisted, bumping the door open with her hip. They entered side-by-side, looking around at the room. A thin layer of dust settled on everything, and Mike made a face, “I wonder where Ji went, anyway...”

 

“Jayden got a postcard from him awhile ago,” Emily said, setting her bag down to walk forward to the training room. “It was postmarked from somewhere in Japan...but that's the only one I know that he got, so I'm not sure.”

 

Mike nodded, dropping his own bag to flip over the two stairs that led to the receded floor, landing on his hands. He walked around on them while Emily leaned in the doorway, laughing at his antics. He flipped back to his feet, and began to dance to a song only he could hear, before reaching out to pull her into him. He then slowed, leading them on a waltz, dipping her with a bright grin before bringing her back up. She wound an arm around his waist, and they studied the dark, empty Shiba House.

 

“It's good to be back,” She said quietly, nodding to herself. She missed her sister, yes, but Serena's health had taken a turn for the better, and her older sister encouraged them to meet up with their old teammates. Mike nodded, pressing a kiss to her temple. He hadn't grown up here, like Jayden had, yet the Shiba House was the source of some of the greatest memories of his life...and the reason he had found the love of his life.

 

“Y'know,” He said thoughtfully, “you're gonna have to come meet _my_ parents, sometime. I know Mom will _love you_!”

 

“I'm just glad Daddy warmed up to you,” Emily giggled, but nodded, “but yeah, I'd love to meet them.”

 

“Maybe after we visit here for a bit, we can head home,” Mike suggested, “ _my_ home. The house I grew up in, I mean.”

 

“I get it,” Emily smiled, and Mike looked at her with false innocence, “Do you? _You're_ my home, is what I was getting at.”

 

Emily shook her head, flushing red with joy and happiness, before standing on her tiptoes to press a chaste kiss to her boyfriend's lips.

 

…

 

**4.**

 

Antonio said nothing, only followed quickly behind as Jayden took the stone steps two at a time up the incline to Shiba House. There was a slight tremor to his boyfriend's muscles that anyone else would call intensity, but he knew it was nerves. Ji had left the same day Jayden had, he'd told Antonio as much, but who would be there when they return? What would they be doing? What would they think of the new development in Antonio and Jayden's relationship?

 

Those were the questions Jayden was asking himself, Antonio was sure, but it was silly and unnecessary. He slid his tanned hand in Jayden's pale one, making the younger man stop in his tracks at the top of the stairs. Jayden's chest rose once, a deep breath, before he turned to face Antonio unsurely. Antonio further laced his fingers in between Jayden's, and smiled supportively, “It's okay, Jayden. Everything's going to be _fantastico_.”

 

Jayden chuckled once, but nodded, “I know. I know. But...it's just...”

 

Antonio pressed his forehead against Jayden's, stared with his deep, brown eyes into endlessly blue ones, “I know.”

 

And he did. They might be different as night and day, but they could read each other like open books. There were no secrets, not truly, and especially not now. He pressed a kiss to Jayden's forehead as his eyes fluttered closed, “It doesn't matter who is there at Shiba House, they are going to be _happy_ for us.”

 

Jayden nodded, still unsure, but now resolute. He headed to the right, to the gate that opened to the back where they used to train, bypassing the house entirely, tugging Antonio behind him. The fisherman could see the house was looking a bit rough, but it was nothing some time, cleaner, and elbow grease couldn't solve.

 

The back was looking as rough as the front, with small tufts of grass growing in the pit of sand they used to practice in, and a few of the boards of the desk had warped. The table and grill under the awning looked to be in a good shape, if a bit dirty, and Antonio grinned at Jayden, “Needs a bit of cleaning up, but it could definitely be worse.”

 

Jayden nodded his agreement. They'd have to replace a few boards, maybe lay more sand, and do a _lot_ of cleaning, but Shiba House could be returned to its former glory. Nothing had changed, not truly.

 

“Why'd we come this way?” Antonio asked, motioning to the gate with their joined hands. “Why'd we go _around_ , I mean, and not through?”

 

“Because that's not where the memories are,” Jayden answered without thought, and therefore honestly. Antonio looked to him, and Jayden felt compelled to continue, “This is where we practiced, where we trained...even when we were small, this is where we played. We ate dinner out here, talked out here...yeah, we did that _in_ the house too, but when I think home...I think out _here_.”

 

Antonio laughed quietly, closing the distance to press a sweet, enamored kiss against Jayden's lips before pulling back to rest his forehead against Jayden's once again, “I love you. I really, really, _really_ love you. You're something else.”

 

Jayden turned red, shyly looking at the ground as he pressed a kiss to the corner of Antonio's mouth, “Me too. I really, really, _really_ love you, too.”

 

…

 

**+1.**

 

“We made good time,” Kevin said thoughtfully as they watched the yellow cab drive away. Mia nodded, wrapping an arm around his waist as she looked up at him, “Are you glad to be back?”

 

“Very,” Kevin smiled at her, “especially with you. How about you?”

 

She shook her head as his blatant affection, but pressed a kiss to his jaw all the same, “Of course! I can't wait to see everyone again!”

 

Kevin nodded his silent agreement, and they headed up the stone steps to the large house at the top. They arrived at the halfway point, where stone lanterns stood on either side, but stopped when the _putt-putt_ of an old vehicle traveled up the ravine. The rusted, yellow farm truck puttered to a stop just past the beginning of the steps, and Emily hadn't even fully parked before Mike was out of the truck, flying up the steps. His arms wrapped around Kevin with such strength he was forced to drop his bag, and Mia giggled when he picked her up and spun her around. In this span of time, Emily had gotten out of the truck, and had her hands on her hips as she watched her boyfriend's antics, “Mike! The bags!”

 

He flipped the bottom half of the staircase, picking Emily up in his excitement to spin her around before pressing a kiss to her lips. He let her down, grabbing their bags out of the bed of the truck to take off up the stairs once again, running right between Kevin and Mia. Emily shook her head, following a much more sedate pace, but she did stop to hug Kevin from the side and wrap her arms around Mia. The girl in pink returned the gesture, and they held it for a long while, and walked to the top arm in arm, Kevin right behind.

 

When they arrived at the top, Emily gasped, “Oh! You're already here!”

 

At the front door, Jayden gave Mike a tight hug before parting from him, and he and Antonio started a long, convoluted secret handshake before hugging each other tightly. Jayden crossed to the rest of his team, hugging Kevin, Mia, and Emily in turn.

 

Mia grinned at him mischievously, “Sooo...what kind of _fish_ did you bring me? Because _believe me_ , I can do them justice now! Ask Kevin!”

 

Kevin nodded, smiling, “Those classes did wonders.”

 

Mia pouted, elbowing him, “I wasn't _that_ bad!”

 

They all traded loaded look before Jayden crossed his arms, smirking, “ _Someone_ arranged the delivery of his fish for _January_ instead of July, with his sloppy handwriting. So unless we want to go back east to get them, you'll have to settle with the few we caught out the bay before we got here.”

 

Emily and Kevin stifled their laughter into their fists as Mia giggled, “That'll do. We brought some other groceries, too. I have a whole spread planned!”

 

“I can't wait,” Emily smiled. Antonio ran over to hug everyone, and Mike wrapped Jayden in a hug before pulling back with a playful smirk, “So...have fun _fishing_?”

 

Jayden knew he was being teased, yet his face heated all the same, even as he chuckled, “I'm about as good with a fishing rod as I am with a guitar. I think I'll just stick with the swords.”

 

They all had a laugh, and then filtered in to the Shiba House. It was dusty, but just the same as it ever was. Antonio was the last in, and was closing the door behind him when a female voice called out, “ _Wait_!”

 

They all glanced at one another, but Antonio pushed the door back open. Lauren jogged across the front lawn, dragging Ji behind her by the hand. They stopped at the threshold, slightly breathless. Everyone's eyes traveled to their hands, his blunt, dark fingers laced between her thin, pale ones, and they both turned red, but did not let go.

 

“Well, come on in!” Antonio crowed, motioning them in the door. Lauren nodded, pausing to hug him quickly, and Ji patted him on the shoulder with a smile. He closed the door behind them, and they all filtered into the living room. It was covered in a layer of dust, and they all seemed to study the same place: the mantle.

 

Atop it sat a green wooden bear, a yellow clay ape, a pink metal turtle, a blue glass dragon, and a red porcelain lion. Antonio walked over, pulling a small package from his bag, “Oh, almost forgot!”

 

Inside was a porcelain lion, the same as the other that sat on the far left, except where the other was red and accented with white, this one was white and accented with red. Lauren felt her eyes water, and Jayden held up a finger, “It's not done yet.”

 

Antonio looked at him with confusion. They'd discussed this, and the white and red lion was the only addition that he knew of. Jayden pulled the golden paper lantern from his own bag, settling it on the far left, moving his own lion over. The look on Antonio's face was nothing short of awed, and he buried it in the crook of Jayden's shoulder, overcome with emotion. Mike wrapped an arm around Emily, winking at their team leader, and Mia leaned back into Kevin. Even Lauren moved closer to Ji, and he was the one to say what they were all thinking.

 

“And now everyone's home.”

 


End file.
